Let me introduce you to the kid behind the mask. He's 5 years old. He shows extreme bravery in the face of leukemia. His parents know him as mild-mannered, sweet Miles, but on Friday he became Batkid, his superhero alter ego.

The Make-A-Wish Foundation of the Greater Bay Area and thousands of volunteers have transformed San Francisco into Gotham City for a day. Batkid has already trained with his mentor Batman, saved a damsel in distress chained to a big green detonation device covered in the Riddler's signature question marks, and helped to apprehend The Riddler. He is well on his way to receiving a key to the city from the mayor. This may be the fastest origin story in superhero history.

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When Make-A-Wish put out a call for volunteers to come out to cheer Batkid on and record his exploits, the citizens of Gotham rose up to support him. More than 10,000 people RSVPed for the day's events. The crowds lining the sunny streets at Batkid's scheduled stops have been enormous. Onlookers are carrying pro-Batkid signs that say "Miles, You're my hero!" and "We love Batkid." Some even cheered the little hero on as he made his way to the restroom.

Perhaps best of all, Batkid, despite his real-life battle with cancer, is managing these feats with 99 percent less angst than Christian Bale. Onward, Batkid, the citizens of Gotham need you!

The interest in Batkid's exploits has caused the Make-A-Wish site to collapse under the strain, but the foundation encourages people to donate or volunteer to help other children like Batkid. Be sure to check back once the site is up and running to find Make-A-Wish volunteer opportunities in your area. It takes a whole lot of good-hearted regular people to make a superhero happen.

Batkid came to the rescue of a grateful damsel in distress.
James Martin/CNET
Run, Batkid, run!
Make-A-Wish Foundation of the Greater Bay Area

About the author

Freelance writer Amanda C. Kooser covers gadgets and tech news with a twist for CNET's Crave blog. When not wallowing in weird gadgets and iPad apps for cats, she can be found tinkering with her 1956 DeSoto.
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